I’ve spent the last two weeks in a frenzy of creating/sewing in order to prepare for a steampunk photoshoot last Friday.

I decided–somewhat foolishly–that I wanted an entire new outfit for the occasion. So I started with the jacket.

Here’s the pattern I used:

Except I decided I wanted the top right jacket, but with the bottom right sleeves. But that shouldn’t be too hard. Right?

Actually, it wasn’t. Except for the part where I didn’t test the sleeve pattern before I cut it out. So the upper sleeves could stand to be a little longer. I do have extra fabric, so I can re-do that piece. Later.

Here’s how the jacket turned out:

The outer fabric is a lovely purple doesuede; the lining is a mauve linen. Both fabrics are very soft and comfortable. And except for the sleeves, I’m pleased with how the jacket fits.

Next, I needed a skirt. Now I’ve been making skirts for {mumbledy} years without patterns, so I decided I didn’t need one this time, either. My goal was to make a gored skirt, so it wouldn’t be just a gathered rectangle (like so many of mine are). And I wanted a deep, pleated ruffle at the bottom. Because I’m in the middle of changing sizes at the moment, I cheated and went with an elastic waistband; when I hit a final size, I’ll go back and put in a more permanent waistband.

The skirt turned out a little snugger than planned, but it looks fabulous (as long as I’m standing up, which I mostly did for the photoshoot anyway). Pinning in the pleats took forever; pressing them in took about that long, too.

The main fabric for the skirt is a lightweight cotton; the ruffle is a slightly heavier cotton.

But since this was for a steampunk photoshoot, I decided to attempt an overbustle. The logistics didn’t quite work out as I’d planned, so I ended up with more of a funky overskirt than an overbustle, but I think it worked.

Last but not least, I needed a shirt of some kind to wear underneath it all. I’d originally planned a long-sleeved, high-necked, frilly blouse–and that may get made up someday–but when the forecast predicted high temperatures of 100F or more for the day of the photoshoot, I decided on more of a camisole kind of approach.

For inspiration, I went out online and found pictures of some camisoles. Like this one:

Based on that, I put this together:

Which worked reasonably well, and fit very nicely for what’s basically a tube with shoulder straps. Though I now understand the reason for the flared bit at the bottom of the original–I had a hard time keeping this one tucked into my skirt. But I can fix that!